The journey behind the 2026 campaign - from treadmill incline work in a snowed-in April to the July 15 Huron Peak climb for CurePSP.
On July 15 we summited Huron Peak (14,010 ft) in the Sawatch Range for our first campaign hike, raising funds and awareness for CurePSP. This climb is dedicated to a dear friend's sister battling PSP and to Hunter's father-in-law facing MSA. Blue skies, alpine tundra, and a strong team on the mountain.
Goal: $25,000 for CurePSP. Every dollar goes to research, patient support, and awareness for PSP, CBD, and MSA.
Donate to CurePSP
Too much snow on the hills meant April was spent indoors, hammering incline work on the treadmill. The goal: build enough leg strength and lungs to climb 2,000 vertical feet in under three miles without it feeling like a fight. By the start of May it was finally clicking.
Once the snow let up, training moved outside. The Bluffs and Mt. Falcon became the proving ground - real dirt, real climbs, sunrise and sunset miles with Denver in the distance and the snowcapped Front Range above.
Next came real elevation - Boulder Peak for steep, rocky, lung-burning climbs, and Brainard Lake to start adapting to thinner air. Talus fields and granite spires replaced the treadmill belt.
The first 60 days closed with a summit of Mt. Bierstadt (14,065 ft) on May 28. It started at 32 degrees and foggy, opened into brighter skies on the approach, and finished with more than eight inches of snow near the top. A hard, cold, beautiful day - and a very strong first chapter of training.
Some of the best moments on the trail had nothing to do with vertical feet - sunrises over downtown Denver from Mt. Falcon, and the wildlife that showed up to share the morning.
Two weeks off the trail to heal a sprained knee, then back at it in the Sawatch Range. June 25 started at the Lake Ann trailhead near Huron Peak, with camp set in the basin under its full ridgeline - plus a favorite fishing spot at the base of the peak and columbines in full bloom along the trail. June 26 finished on the summit of Maryland Mountain, the snowfields above treeline a reminder that high country is still hanging onto winter.
More training updates, summit photos, and hike recaps will be added as the 2026 campaign progresses.
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